Venezuela Hit by Twin Earthquakes 7.2 and 7.5 - Hotel Collapses, 32 Dead, Toll Rising
Two quakes 40 seconds apart off northern coast. La Guaira disaster zone, Hotel Eduard in rubble. USGS warns up to 100,000 casualties possible.
Two earthquakes tore through northern Venezuela on the evening of June 24 - 40 seconds apart, 7.2 then 7.5 - in the strongest seismic double hit the country has seen in more than a century.
Buildings collapsed in Caracas. A waterfront hotel was reduced to rubble. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a national state of emergency and called La Guaira a “disaster zone.”
The death toll is climbing.
What happened
Per the US Geological Survey (USGS):
| Quake | Magnitude | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| First | 7.2 | ~18:04 local, west of Morón |
| Second | 7.5 | 39-40 seconds later, ~45 km away |
The sequence is known as a doublet - two major shocks in rapid succession, amplifying damage.
20+ aftershocks followed. Tremors were felt as far as Brazil’s Amazon, 1,700 km away.
Casualties and warnings
Rodríguez confirmed at least 32 dead and 700+ injured by early June 25 - and warned the count will rise as rescuers reach collapsed buildings.
The USGS issued a red PAGER alert - its highest level - estimating potential deaths from 10,000 to 100,000. That is a model range, not a confirmed toll. But officials on the ground say “high casualties” are likely.
Dozens of buildings have collapsed, and we are engaged in the arduous task of rescuing the lives that God allows us to save.
Diosdado Cabello, interior minister, confirmed multiple collapses but gave few national figures in the first hours.
La Guaira and Hotel Eduard
The coastal state of La Guaira - next to Caracas - took the worst hit.
In Macuto, the Hotel Eduard - an 8-floor beachfront property with 106 rooms - was largely destroyed. CNN-verified video shows only the entrance still standing. Up to 15 buildings collapsed in the state, per Jorge Rodríguez, head of the national assembly.
Rescue teams dug through pancaked apartments. Falcon state reported 32 hospitalized and 15 people trapped in early hours.
Operations at Maiquetía international airport were suspended. Cell signal failures left families abroad unable to reach relatives - painful for a diaspora of 7+ million Venezuelans who left during years of crisis.
Caracas and beyond
In the capital, residents fled into streets as facades cracked and structures fell. Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcon also reported damage.
Rodríguez ordered evacuations for homes with serious structural damage. Civil protection and the national emergency system deployed nationwide.
No major Pacific tsunami threat was reported, though alerts briefly covered Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Context
Venezuela sits where the Caribbean and South American plates meet. The 1812 quake killed an estimated 30,000 in Mérida and Caracas.
Wednesday’s twin shock is among the largest since then. Aid pledges are coming in, but search-and-rescue is still in the first critical hours.
For a country already battered by economic collapse and political turmoil, two earthquakes in one minute is a catastrophe layered on a catastrophe.